How Much Does Marketing as a Service Cost? (2026)
By Ken Chong6 min read
Most of the price guides on this topic are written by firms that sell it, this one included. So every range below links to where it comes from, and the Hyphen10 row is our own price.
What marketing help costs, side by side
Monthly figures unless stated. Ad spend, where there is any, is always on top.
| Option | What it costs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hire a demand generation manager (US) | $91,500 to $129,750 base salary a year; about $10,900 to $15,400 a month with benefits and payroll taxes | Robert Half 2027 guide, BLS |
| Recruiter fee, if you use one | 20% to 25% of first-year cash compensation | SHRM |
| Fractional CMO | $3,000 to $15,000 a month, or $150 to $350 an hour | MarketerHire, 2026 |
| Fractional CMO, retainer firms | $1,500 to over $30,000 a month | Chief Outsiders |
| Marketing agency retainer | 86% of agencies average up to $10,000 a month; 49% sit at $1,000 to $5,000 | SparkToro agency survey, 2026 |
| B2B SaaS marketing agency | $5,000 to $10,000 a month early stage; $10,000 to $25,000 at growth stage | SaaS Hero, 2026 |
| Marketing as a service, published plans | $5,995 a month for 120 dedicated hours; $8,995 for 180 hours | Designity |
| Marketing as a service, full service | $50,000+ a month | Kalungi |
| Offshore execution team | Providers say 30% to 50% less than US in-house equivalents | 2X (provider's own claim) |
| Hyphen10 marketing as a service | From $4,500 for an embedded specialist; from $8,000 for an embedded manager; from $15,000 for a team. Month to month. | Our pricing |
The real cost of a hire
A salary is the smallest surprise in hiring. Benefits and payroll taxes make up 30% of what US private employers spend on their people (BLS, June 2026), so a $108,000 salary, the middle of Robert Half's demand gen range, costs about $12,900 a month in total.
Then there's getting them in the door. The median time to fill a non-executive role is 39 days (SHRM, 2026), and the average cost per hire is $5,475 (SHRM, 2025), or 20% to 25% of first-year pay if a recruiter fills it. If the hire doesn't work out, Gallup puts the cost of replacing an employee at one-half to two times their annual salary (Gallup).
None of that makes hiring wrong. It just means the fair comparison is the loaded monthly cost, not the salary.
Fractional CMO, agency or offshore team
A fractional CMO buys senior judgment for a few days a month, usually $3,000 to $15,000 (MarketerHire). You still need someone to execute the plan, so budget for that too.
Agencies mostly sit under $10,000 a month (SparkToro) and are strongest on one channel or project. Offshore execution teams are the cheapest per hour, and the providers themselves claim 30% to 50% savings against US teams. The cost that never shows up on their invoice is the time your own people spend briefing and reviewing the work.
Which of these fits depends on whether your gap is judgment or hands. We've written that decision up separately: marketing as a service, fractional CMO, agency or another hire.
What moves the price of marketing as a service
- How much of the function you hand over. One channel owned end to end costs less than the whole demand engine.
- Seniority. Hours from junior executors are cheap. Senior people who set the plan and run it are not, and shouldn't be.
- Number of disciplines and markets. Each extra channel, region or audience adds real work.
- What's bundled. Creative, tools, landing pages and reporting are included by some providers and billed by others.
- Term. Some providers ask for three to twelve months. Others, including us, run month to month.
What to ask before you sign
- Who does the work, and how senior are they? Meet them before you sign.
- Who sets the plan: them, or you?
- What's included in the monthly fee, and what's billed on top?
- What's the minimum term and notice period?
- What will you see each week, and is it measured in activity or pipeline?
- Do you keep your accounts, data and content if you stop?
What Hyphen10 charges
Our marketing as a service is CMO-level strategy and specialist-level execution from the same senior people, working inside your team and priced against the hire it replaces.
Embedded Specialist is from $4,500 a month: one channel owned end to end. Embedded Manager is from $8,000 a month: demand generation owned end to end across the remit you agree. Embedded Team is from $15,000 a month: a lead plus dedicated specialists. We start the week you sign, you can stop any month, and we never take a percentage of ad spend. Full details on our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does marketing as a service cost?
- Published prices run from about $5,000 a month for one embedded role (Designity) to $50,000+ a month for a full-service team (Kalungi). Hyphen10 charges from $4,500 for an embedded specialist, from $8,000 for an embedded manager and from $15,000 for a team, month to month.
- Is marketing as a service cheaper than hiring?
- Often, once you compare loaded costs. A US demand generation manager earns $91,500 to $129,750 (Robert Half, 2027), and benefits and payroll taxes are 30% of US employer costs (BLS), so the hire costs roughly $10,900 to $15,400 a month before recruiting fees.
- How much does a fractional CMO cost?
- Usually $3,000 to $15,000 a month, or $150 to $350 an hour, according to MarketerHire's 2026 pricing guide. Retainer firms such as Chief Outsiders quote anywhere from $1,500 to over $30,000 a month.
- How much does a B2B marketing agency retainer cost?
- In SparkToro's 2026 survey of digital agencies, 86% reported an average monthly retainer of up to $10,000, and 49% sat between $1,000 and $5,000. B2B SaaS-focused agencies quote $5,000 to $25,000 a month depending on company stage (SaaS Hero).
- Is offshore marketing cheaper?
- Per hour, usually. Offshore providers claim 30% to 50% savings against US in-house teams. The saving shrinks if your own team has to brief and review the work closely, which is likely when you have no marketing leader setting direction.
Not sure which of these your team actually needs? Get your free scorecard: ten short questions, and you'll see which points you're thin on, back in two business days.